Method of making envelopes and mechanism therefor



(No Model.) I 0. F. ANNAN.

METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPES AND MECHANISM THEREFOR Patented Aug. 28, 1883.

N. PETERS, Phm-umu n m. Washington. oc.

O. P. ANNAN.

METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPES AND MEGHANISM'THEREPOR. No. 283.945

(No Model.)

WITNESSES- (No Model.) 8 Sheets-Sheet 3.

O. F. ANNAN; METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPES AND MECHANISM THEREFOR.

Patented Aug. 28, 1883.

, INVENTEIR- 7 k-bm WITNESSES- (No Model.) 8 Sheets-$heet 4.

G. F. ANNAN.

METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPES AND MECHANISM THEREFOR.

No. 283.945. Patented Aug. 28, 188-3.

: i1 @W @"QIV U WITNESSES- INVE-NWUI 6% M1 wr/a'mw (No Model.) I '8 SheetsSheet 6.

O. F. ANNAN. METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPES AND MECHANISM THEREFOR.

No. 283.945 Patented Aug. 28, 1883.

WTNE-ESEE- A 4; WM

(No Model.) 8 Sheets-Sheet 8.

O. P. ANNAN. METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPES AND MECHANISM THEREFOR. No. 283,945.

Patented Aug. 28, 1883.

71 viz beak es .Inu 6/11/60 I:

N. FEYERi Phoia-l llwgraphen W lihinglcm u. c.

' lllassaehusettshave invented certain Improvea, and has adjustable conical collars b b aflixed i rice.

Arnnr CHARLES F. ANNAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD OF MAKING ENVELOPE 3 AND MECHANISM THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 283,945, dated August 28, 1883.

Application filed November 11, 1882.

T0 cal/l whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES F. ANNAN, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of ments in the Method of Making Envelopes and Mechanism Therefor, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to enable envelopes to be made from an endless web of paper by a continuous run through a single machine or a series of connected co-ope 'ating elements, and printed, if desired, while pass ing through said machine, the entire operation of producing the envelopebeing accomplished automatically and without the intervention of attendants during the entire operation.

The invention consists in the improved meth- 0d of making envelopes and mechanism therefor, hereinafter described and claimed, for accomplishing the object stated. Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figs. 1,1", 1 ,1", and 1, (Sheets 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7,) represent collectively a side elevation of a machine embody ingmy invention. Figs. 2, 2, 2", and 2, (Sheets 5, 6, 4, and 7 represent collectively a top view of the same. Figs. 3, 4L, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9, 9", 9, 9 10, and 17 represent views showing the stages of the operation of making envelopes. Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, and 19 represent detail views.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In carrying out my invention, I employ an organized machine involving devices for sup porting a roll of paper of indefinite length, trimming the edges of the same, folding and gumming the trimmed edges, printing, (if de sired,) severing transversely into blanks, folding transversely to form the receiving part of the envelope and leave a projecting transverse flap, gumming the latter, if the envelope is to be sealed, and drying, and finally folding the gummed flap. Said devices are sup ported in a suitable main frame-work, a, and a secondary frame-work, a.

A represents the arbor on which the roll of paper to be made into envelopes is wound. Said arbor is j ournaled in one end of the frame (N0 model.)

to it by set-screws, said collars entering the central aperture in the roll of paper and sup porting the weight of the latter, so that the roll can be adjusted laterally by moving the collars. in a sliding bearing, 0, which is adjusted laterally by a screw, d, so as to move the shaft endwise and thus further adjust the roll of paper with reference to the succeeding parts of the machine.

6 represents a main drivingshaft, which imparts motion to the mechanism, hereinafter described, supported by the frame a for feeding forward the paper web and performing the successive operations on the same.

B 13 represent feed rolls which draw the web from the roll A.

O O O O represent two pairs of rotating shears located on arbors f j, and adapted to trim the opposite edges of the web, as herein alter described. The disks 0 O are positively secured to their arbor, but adjustable thereon,

and the disks 0 O, which project slightly at their lower portions below the upper portions of the disks 0 C, as shown in Fig. 11, are free to move lengthwise of their arbor, and are pressed against the disks 0 O by a spring,

D D represent folders secured to the frame a, and capable of lateral adjustment to suit varying widths of paper, each folder being shaped in cross section, as shown in Fig. 12, so as to turn inwardly one edge of the web.

F F represent feed-rolls, which flatten and crease the parts turned in by the folders and feed the strip forward to the rollers G G. The roller G is provided at its end with type-high flanges 9', (see Fig. 13,)which afford abearing for the upper or bed roll, G, and permit electrotype or stereotype plates of equal height to be secured to the roll Gbetween said flanges for the purpose of printing upon the under surface of the web as it passes between the rolls G G, said plates being attached. to the roll G in any suitable manner.

An inking mechanism is located behind the rolls G G, and consists of an ink-reservoir, j, an intermittently-rotated roll, is, journaled in the reservoir, an oscillating roll, Z, which is pressed intermittently against the roll is and is journaled in an adjustable sleeve, m, on an The arbor A is journaled at one end k the position shown in Fig. 1", it supports the ink-reservoir to the distributing-roll 0.

arm or lever, n, and distributing-rolls .0 p g, which receive ink from the oscillating roll Z and transfer it to the type 011 the roll G. The lever n is pivoted at r to the frame a, and is oscillated vertically by a rotary cam, s, so as to oscillate the roll Z from the feed-roll in the The lever 02 is provided with atoe or step, t, which is pivoted to the lever and arranged to bear upon the cam s. The toe t is backed by asetscrew, a, which enables the toe to be adjusted and regulate the position of the roll 1 at the upper and lower ends of its movement, so as to insure the proper contact of said roll with the rolls k 0.

ment of the lever 12. The rolls 0 p q are journaled in bearings supported by plates w w, 1

which are secured to the frame a by screws 00 as, passing through slots 3 in said plates, said 7 slots and screws making the plates w and the rolls thereon adjustable, so that the roll q can be caused to bear against the type on differentsized' rolls G. The roll 1) has an automatic endwise reciprocating movement imparted to it by means of a double worm, b, on the end of its arbor and a fixed finger, c, on one of the plates 10, engaging with said worm, as shown in Fig. 2.

(1 cl represent a pair of feed-rolls, between xhich the web passes after leaving the rolls G the web on its upper surface.

with the wheels t" and the web, and deposit as hereinafter described.

carry a sufficient quantity of gum. The rear portion of the gum-box is supported by a dog,

m, which is pivoted to the frame a, and forms a bearing for the bottom of the gum-box. dog m is provided with a handle, a, which enables it to be turned. When the dog is in gum-box in the position shown in said figure;

but when the dog is turned on its pivot from said position it lowers the end of the gum-box resting upon it and causes the arm k and the forward end of the gum-box to tilt upwardly,

thus raising the wheels j from the web and The lever 12 is provided with a dog, a, which engages with a ratchet attached to the arbor of the roll k, and gives said ratchet and roll a partial rotation at each upward move- After the rolls (1 (1 comes a gumming mechanism for gumming the opposite edges of Said mechanism consists of agum box or trough, c, pivoted at f to the frame a, so as to be capable of tilting or rocking, two narrow gum-wheels, g, rotating in said box and attached to an arbor, h, which has a pulley belted to a pulley on the 7 arbor of the roll d, and transferring gum-wheels ij journaled in arms is attached to the gum- 1 box. The wheels i are in rolling contact with the wheels 9, and the wheels j are in contact 5 The readily remove the gum-wheels j when the machine is not in operation, thus preventing said wheels from sticking to the web.

I I J J represent feed-rolls between which the web passes, after being gummed, to a pair of rolls, L L, the former having two longitudinal knives, 0 0, suitably secured in its periphery, and the latter, which is of composition, serves as a bed-roll for the knives 0. v M M N N represent two pairs of feedrolls, which advance the blanks. severed by the knives 0 and deposit said blanks upon a pair of horizontally-arranged rolls, P P.

0 represents a folding-blade, which is supported by two vertically-movable rods, r, and

is reciprocated vertically by levers s, pivoted at t to the frame a, and oscillated by a cam,

a, against which one of the levers s bears, 7

said levers being rigidly connected together. The rolls 1? P and folder 0 fold each blank, as hereinafter described.

Q represents a horizontal belt or apron under the rolls P P, and extending from thence beyond the rear of the frame a to a drying apparatus.

R represents a gum-box, having in its lower portion a very narrow slit or opening extending crosswise of the frame a and in close proximity to the upper surface of the apron Q. One side of said slit or mouth is composed of a flexible metal plate, f which is pressed inwardly by cams e, and regulates the size of cated in the rear of the folding-blade O, and

supported by vertical rods 9 and reciprocated vertically by levers h, pivoted at t and oscillated bya cam, 5". The. folder f when depressed, presses the blanksbetween two rolls, 71/ If, upon which the blanks are deposited when a certain kind of envelope is being made,

as hereinafter described. I

Above the folder f and moving with it, is a gum-box, j having a narrow gum-delivery aperture at its lower portion, one side of which aperture is the folder f. (See Fig. 1 6.) The gum therefore flows from the box upon one side of the folder. A verticallyadjustable wedge-shaped gate or valve, is", in the box j regulates the quantity of gum tlfat flows from the box.

The apron Q passes from the frame a to adrier composed of asuitable frame supporting a roll, Z around which the apron Q passes, one or more aprons, n, supported on pulleys below the I above, and conduct said blanks in an opposite direction to the'preceding apron, and steamcasings being made in removable sections to enable access to be conveniently had to any part of any belt or pipe. Said casings are omitted from Fig. 1 in order that the arrangement of the aprons a may be clearly shown. The motion of the aprons through the casings creates a circulation of air which materially facilitates the drying operation. A chute or spout, T, leads from the lower apron in the series to the mechanism supported in the frame a, said frame being preferably in a different apartment from the machine and drier, previously described. The chute is arranged to guide the envelope-blanks into a bottomless receptacle or boX, U, which is located over an apron, V, the latter forming a moving bottom for said receptacle and supporting the envelope-blanks that accumulate therein. The receptacle U is supported by vertically-movable rods q, resting on levers 'r", which are attached to a rock-shaft, s journaled in the frame a, and bear at their opposite ends on cams if? on a driving-shaft, a", said cam, levers, and rods giving the receptacle U a slight vertical reciprocating movement equal to about the thickness of a single envelope.

W represents a gage arranged over the apron V at a slight distance from the receptacle U.

Said gage is supported by vertically-movable rods c", which are in turn supported by arms 26*, attached to the rock-shaft .9 The gage WV is reciprocated vertically by the rock-shaft, arms, and rods, so that it alternately rests upon the surface of the apron V and rises above the same.

Y represents a vertically-reciprocating or oscillating folding-blade which is supported by arms 6, pivoted at c" to fixed standards on the frame a, and connected by rods d with eccentrics e on the shaft if, said eccentrics, rods, and arms imparting an up-and-down movement to the folder Y, and causing the latter to approach and recede from two rolls, Z Z.

X represents an adjustable gage supported by a fixed standard on the frame a.

Operation: Theroll of paper being in place on the arbor A, the outer end of theweb is carried by the feed-rolls B B to the rotary shears O O, which trim the opposite edges of the web, cutting into the edges so as to form narrow flaps or offsets E, as shown in Fig. 3. The web next passes between the folders D D, which are arranged to turn the flaps inwardly toward the center of the strip. The rolls F F complete the folding of the'flaps E by creasing the same and flattening them down against the surface of the web, as shown in Fig. 4.

The web, with its folded flaps, next passes between the printing-roll G and its bed-roll G, and is printed on the space between the folded flaps E by an electrotype or stereotype plate affiXed to the printing-roll, said plates being supplied with ink by the inking mechanism above described. The gum-rollsj j, supplied with gum, as already described, deposit continuous lines of gum on the folded flaps and the intervening recessed edges of the web, as shown in Fig. 4, the shaded lines indicating the gum. The feed-rolls I I J J conduct the gummed web forward to the cut-off roll L and its bed-roll L, the upper feed-rolls, I and J, being shorter than the corresponding lower ones, so that they will not touch the gummed portions of the web. The longitudinal knives of the cutoff roll sever the web transversely, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4, into sections or blanks, each including one of the flaps E on each edge, as shown in Fig. 5. The feed-rolls M M N N take each severed blank and deposit it upon the horizontally-arranged rolls P P, between which the vertically-reciproeating folding-blade 0 works. The blade 0, descending, imparts a fold to each blank 011 the dotted line shown in Fig. 5, and presents the blank in a semifolded condition to the rolls P P, which grasp the blank, complete the fold, and press the gummed sides together, leaving the blank in the form shown in Fig. 6, one end projecting beyond the other and forming a the final flap,E. The blanks thus prepared drop upon the apron Q, and are carried thereby along toward the end of the machine and between the mouth of the gum-box R and the rising and falling roller or bumper S, the latter rising when the flap E of each blank reaches it, and pressing said flap against the narrow mouth of the gum-box, thereby gumming said flap transversely, as shown by the shaded lines in Fig. 7. A narrow loose roll, a, resting on the belt Q, behind the gumbox R, prevents the blanks from sticking to the gum-box, said roll acting to press the blanks against the belt, and thus enable the latter to draw the blanks away from the gumbox. The roll a has a central enlargement, a,

which is the only part that touches the blanks.

To prevent this part from being smeared with gum, I obstruct the mouth 'of the gum-box R at its center, so that the part of the blanks that pass under the central enlargement, a of the roll a are not gummed. A roll, 5 journaled in the frame a, under the belt Q, supports the belt and the roll a*. The blanks are then carried by the apron Q into the drying apparatus, where the gum 011 the flap E is dried. After passing through the drying apparatus the blanks pass into the bottomless vertically-movable receptacle U, located over the carrying, apron V. The receptacle U is raised intermittently, by the mechanism described, sufficiently to permit the lower blank contained therein to be moved by its contact with the belt out from under the lower edge of the receptacle. The

' the flaps E on one edge of the strip are cut erly placed in the receptacle U for this pur- 5o intermittentlyoperating gage W rests against the surface of the apron long enough to arrest each blank after it is removed from the receptacle and insure the properposition of the blank upon the apron and correct any displacement that may have taken place while the blank was being withdrawn from the receptacle. The gage W then rises and the apron carries the blank forward until its forward edge abuts against the gage X, leaving the flap E under the folder Y. The latter then descends, creases the flap E, and presents the blank to the grasp of the rollers Z Z, which complete the folding of the flap E, thus completing the envelope and delivering it upon a curved plate, Z;- which guides each envelope to a receiver, Z where they accumulate, and from which they are removed by an attendant.

The result of the described operations is an envelop'ewith a narrow gummed, dried, and

folded flap extending lengthwise of the en-; velope, as shown in Fig. 8, and ready to be sealed by the user.

In case it is desirable to produce an and extending crosswise, as shown in Fig. 10,

wider than those on the other edge, as shown in Fig, 9, and one of the folders D and gumwheels g are renioved, so that only one edge of the strip Will be folded and gummed prior to the cutting operation, as shown in Fig. 9. Each blank after being cut is therefore in the is carried by said belts onto the rolls h h,-

under the folder f which descends, gums the unfolded edge of the blank with the gum which 1 flows from the box j, and folds the blank on the dotted line shown in Fig. 9", leaving the blank in the form shown in Fig. 9 The unfolded and ungummed flap may be left to be folded by the user, or may be folded by the folder Y and rolls Z Z, the blanks being proppose. The receptacle U is made of sufficient size to receive any size of envelope or blank that the machine is capable of making, so that Fig. 17, for newspaper and dry-goods wrappers, gummed at one edge only by the transverse gum-box R, and folded by the folder 0 and rolls P P on the dotted line shown in Fig.- 17. It will be observed that in making either form of envelope or wrapper described the articles are made. by a continuous run of the paper through the machine, and from a single envelope i or bag having the unsecured flap ungummed strip or roll, without the intervention of attendants. printed before their completion, so that each impression is made on a single thickness of paper, and all risk of imperfect work and injury to type, resulting from varying thick- The envelopes or wrappers are nesses of paper under the type, is obviated.

were required for each blankI In making large-sized blanks, however, a complete rota tion of each of said parts may be required for each blank. Power is communicated to the several parts above described from the main driving-shaft by suitable gearing and belting, which is clearly shown in the drawings.

I claim 1. In an organized machine for making envelopes or equivalent articles, the combination of a support for a roll of paper, devices, sub stantially as described, for trimming the edges of a continuously-moving web, devices, substantially as described, for folding and gumming one or more edges of said web, cutting: off mechanism and devices, substantially as described, for gumming each blank transversely at one or more points, and devices, substantially as described, for folding each blank transversely at two points, all arranged and operated substantially as set forth.

2. In an organized machine for making envelopes or equivalent articles, the combination of a support for a roll of paper, devices, substantially as described, for trimming the edges of a continuously-moving web, devices, substantially as described, for folding and gumming the edges of said web, cutting-offmechanism, a device for folding each blank transversely, means for gumming one edge of each blank transversely after the initial folding, drying apparatus, and a device for giving a second fold to each blank after it passes through the drying apparatus, all constructed, arranged, and operated substantially as set forth.

3. The method herein described of making printed envelopes and equivalent folded articles, consisting in .feeding a web of paper of indefinite length continuously forward, printing said web with inked type before it is folded and while said web is in motion, trimming its edges to form flaps, gumming and folding the same, severing it transversely into blanks, and gumming and folding said blanks transversely, as set forth.

4. The method herein described of making envelopes and equivalent articles, consisting in feeding a web of paper of indefinite length continuously forward and while said web is in motion, trimming its edges to form flaps, folding and gumming its edges, severing it trans- I 5 chute T, the vertieally-reciprocated receptacle U, the belt or apron V, constituting the bottom of said receptacle, and the secondary folding devices, as set forth.

8. The combination, with the vertically-reciprocated receptacle U, the belt V, and the 2 secondary folding devices, of the intermittently-operating gage W, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 9th day of November, 2

CHARLES F. ANNAN. \Vitnesses O. F. BROWN, A. L. \/VHITE. 

